What This Bill Does
This bill would authorize federal funding for election security grants for fiscal years 2026, 2027, and 2028. The grants would be aimed at helping election officials protect voting systems, election infrastructure, and related administrative processes from cyberattacks, disruptions, and other security risks. It would mainly affect state and local election agencies, secretaries of state, and the vendors and technicians that support election operations. The core mechanism is federal grant funding over a three-year period.
- Authorizes election security grants for fiscal years 2026, 2027, and 2028.
- Aims to help states and local election officials protect voting systems and election infrastructure.
- Focuses on cybersecurity, resilience, and administrative security measures.
- The bill is in the Senate and has been referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Who This Bill Affects
If you live in a state or county that receives these grants, this bill could help pay for stronger election cybersecurity, better equipment testing, and more reliable backup systems. For the average voter, the main effect would be indirect: fewer chances of outages, delays, or technical problems during voter registration, ballot processing, and vote tabulation.
See how this bill affects you — sign in for a personalized analysisOfficial Source & Bill Facts
BillBoard checks this page against public Congress.gov metadata, then adds plain-English analysis where available.
- Bill
- S 4849
- Congress
- 119th Congress
- Official title
- A bill to authorize funding for election security grants for fiscal years 2026, 2027, and 2028, and for other purposes.
- Policy area
- Government & Elections
- Latest action
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. (June 22, 2026)
- Last updated
- June 23, 2026
Who Supports & Opposes This
- State and local election officials They often operate with limited budgets but are responsible for protecting registration systems, voting equipment, and reporting networks. Federal grants can help them replace outdated tools, test systems more thoroughly, and respond faster to cyber threats.
- Cybersecurity professionals and election vendors Dedicated funding can support layered defenses, audits, and staff training that reduce the chance of disruption. These stakeholders argue that security needs recurring investment rather than one-time emergency fixes.
- Voters concerned about election reliability Supporters say stronger security funding helps ensure ballots are counted accurately and results are reported without avoidable delays. They see it as basic infrastructure support for democratic participation.
- Fiscal conservatives They may argue that new grant programs expand federal spending without guaranteeing measurable security gains. Some prefer state-funded solutions or narrower, one-time investments instead of an ongoing federal authorization.
- State sovereignty advocates Some opponents worry that federal election-security grants can come with federal expectations that intrude on state control of elections. They may resist any program that could influence how states manage their systems.
- Small-county election administrators wary of compliance burdens Even when they want funding, local officials can oppose grants that require detailed reporting, procurement rules, or matching funds. They may view the administrative overhead as difficult to manage for small offices.
Key Implications
-
““authorize funding for election security grants””
This indicates federal money would be set aside specifically for election-security improvements, rather than for general election administration. In practice, states and localities could use the funds for cyber defenses, system monitoring, and related protections.
-
““for fiscal years 2026, 2027, and 2028””
The authorization is time-limited and planned across three budget years. That gives election offices a multi-year funding window, which can help them plan equipment purchases and security upgrades.
-
““referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration””
That committee handles election-related Senate business, so the bill is in the normal review path for voting and administration issues. It still needs committee consideration and further Senate action before any funding can be enacted.
Latest Status
June 22, 2026
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Related Bills
Take Action
Get more from BillBoard
Free tools to understand, respond to, and track this bill.
Ask AI about this billData sourced from api.congress.gov.